was also wronged and would say a word to yonder Houman."

"So be it," said the officer, "only let him be careful not to hurt
him too sorely, lest he should die before the time and escape his
punishment."

Then Bes tucked up his robes and waded into the river, flourishing a
great knife, while seeing him come, Houman began to scream with fear.
He reached the boat and bent over the eunuch, talking to him in a low
voice. What he did there I could not see because his cloak was spread
out on either side of the man's head. Presently, however, I caught sight
of the flash of a knife and heard yells of agony followed by groans,
whereat I called to him to return and let the fellow be. For when I
remembered that his fate was near to being my own, those sounds made me
sick at heart and I grew angry with Bes, though the cruel Easterns only
laughed.

At length he came back grinning and washing the blade of his knife in
the water. I spoke fiercely to him in my own language, and still he
grinned on, making no answer. When we were mounted again and riding away
from that horrible boat with its groaning prisoner, watching Bes whose
behaviour and silence I could not understand, I saw him sweep his hand
across his great mouth and thrust it swiftly into his bosom. After
this he spoke readily enough, though in a low voice lest someone who
understood Egyptian should overhear him.

"You are a fool, Master," he said, "to think that I should wish to waste
time in torturing that fat knave."

"Then why did you torture him?" I asked.

"Because my god, the Grasshopper, when he fashioned me a dwarf, gave
me a big mouth and good teeth," he answered, whereon I stared at him,
thinking that he had gone mad.

"Listen, Master. I did not hurt Houman. All I did was to cut his cords
nearly through from the under side, so that when night comes he can
break them and escape, if he has the wit. Now, Master, you may not have
noticed, but I did, that before the King doomed you to death by the boat
yesterday, he took a certain round, white seal, a cylinder with gods and
signs cut on it, which hung by a gold chain from his girdle, and gave it
to Houman to be his warrant for all he did. This seal Houman showed to
the Treasurer whereon they produced the gold that was weighed in the
scales against me, and to others when he ordered the boat to be prepared
for you to lie in. Moreover he forgot to return it, for when he himself
was dragged off to the boat by direct